A Strange Relationship
by X-MenObsessed
Summary: Hey, it's a story about the lovable Rock Lee, what more do I need to say? :D
1. The Beginning

"Wake up sleepy head!" Naruto called out while standing near his sister's bed. Ai opened one eye to glance up at her brother before snuggling her head back into her pillow.

"Five more minutes." Ai mumbled with her face in her pillow.

"We're getting sorted into teams today…" Naruto trailed off, waiting for Ai to react.

Ai sat up on her bed in one swift motion, her messy hair flying into her face. She pushed it away and stared at her brother. "I forgot!"

"Well get up and get ready then," Naruto stated.

Ai climbed out of bed and pushed Naruto towards the hallway, "If I'm going to get ready, you're going to have to get out!" Closing the door once Naruto was out, Ai turned to her small dresser to get ready and hopefully not be too late to class.

* * *

Ai snuck through the back door of the classroom and found a seat just as Iruka began to announce the teams. The boy next to her glanced over at Ai. "So, who do you think is going to be in the special team?" He whispered.

"Special team? What's that?" Ai whispered back, keeping her eyes focused towards the front of the classroom. Iruka scolded her quite often for talking in class and she wasn't about to get scolded on this important day.

"There's an uneven amount of students that passed so they decided to make one team of four."

Ai thought this over while Iruka called out more teams. She wondered how a team of four would function and if it would still be one girl per team. If she had to be paired with another girl she hoped it would be Sakura since they were friends.

While thinking about being on a team with Sakura, Ai heard Iruka call out Sakura's name. "Team seven will consist of Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Ai Uzumaki. As you can tell, this will be the team of four. We decided that since Naruto and Ai are twins we would put them on the special team together," Iruka explained to the disappointed sighs of students who wanted to be on a special team.

"I wanted to be on a team with Sasuke!" Ai heard Ino complain from her seat. Sakura looked back and stuck her tongue out at her.

While Sakura was turned around she noticed Ai in the corner, "AI! Isn't this great? We'll get to be on the same team!" 'And I get to be on the same team as Sasuke as well,' Sakura thought to herself happily.

Ai smiled down at Sakura before turning her attention back to Iruka who proceeded to read out more names. Once he was finished, he informed the class that their sensei's would arrive soon and to just talk amongst each other until then.

Naruto was brooding in his seat when Ai joined him. She glanced over at Sasuke who was sitting in the same position as always with no facial expression except for a slight hint of annoyance. Sakura stared at him lovingly while Sasuke ignored her. They sat in silence while teams met their new senseis and left.

"What's taking our new sensei so long!?" Naruto yelled exasperated as he paced back and forth in the front of the classroom.

"Calm down Naruto, I'm sure our new sensei will be here soon," Sakura reasoned, looking away from Sasuke for a brief moment before going right on back to staring.

"I'm going to set a trap for him!" Naruto declared as he grabbed an eraser. He shoved it in between the door so it would fall when the door was slid open.

"That's not going to work, moron. Our sensei will be smarter than that," Sasuke mocked in his monotonous voice.

"I agree with Sasuke! It'll never work," Sakura mocked. 'But that would be so awesome if it did!' Sakura thought to herself.

"I don't know, I think there's a possibility it might work," Ai mumbled while staring out the window.

The door slid open and a man with silver hair and a face shrouded by a mask walked into the classroom. The eraser dropped onto his head and sent little clouds of chalk everywhere.

Naruto bust out laughing, "Ha I knew it'd work!"

"I'm so sorry sensei. I tried to stop him…" Sakura tried to apologize while holding in her own laughter.

"Based on my first impression, I'd have to say… I hate you."

* * *

"Let's get to know each other a little better. Why don't you start by saying a few things about yourselves," Their sensei proposed.

"Like what?"

"The usual. What your favorite thing is, what you hate the most, dreams, ambitions, hobbies. Stuff like that," He explained.

"I don't get it. You go first," Naruto demanded.

"Me? My name is Kakashi Hatake. I don't feel like talking about my likes or dislikes. My dreams and hobbies are none of your business," He finished. He looked at the three expectantly.

"All we learned was his name," Sakura whispered to Ai.

"Why don't you start?" Kakashi suggested while gesturing to Naruto.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki! My likes are ramen and being treated to free ramen. My dislikes are the three minutes I have to wait after I pour in the boiling water. My hobbies are practical jokes. My dream is to be the Hokage and then everyone will have to acknowledge me!"

"Next."

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate many things and have few things I do like. I don't have any dreams but I do have a plan to restore my clan. There's also a person I have sworn to kill." Sasuke replied with a deep intensity present in his eyes.

Ai scooted a little farther away from Sasuke, a little freaked out by his intensity.

"I'm Sakura Haruno. My favorite thing is, well it's a person not a thing. I hate Naruto! My dream is to-" Sakura glanced over at Sasuke and squealed into her hands.

"My name is Ai Uzumaki! My favorite thing is spending time with my friends. The thing I hate the most is snakes. My hobbies are reading and training. My dream in life is to become an excellent ninja!" Ai smiled at the end, picturing her future.

"Very well. I think we all understand each other now. Formal training begins tomorrow. We will be doing survival exercises. Meet me at the training grounds tomorrow," And with that, he was gone in a puff of smoke.

After she was dismissed, Ai decided to head home. Wanting to work off some of her hyperness, she decided to run. Smelling something delicious, Ai turned her head to look while not paying any attention to what was in front of her. With a thud, Ai ran into somebody and fell onto the ground. Ai looked up and saw a very oddly dressed boy standing in front of her.

"Hello."


	2. Meeting Lee

The boy Ai ran into looked flustered as he offered his hand out to help Ai off the ground. Ai gladly accepted his help and thanked him once she was off the ground. Once she was standing, Ai had a good chance to take a look at him. The first thing Ai noticed about him was his incredibly large eyebrows that sat just beneath his black bowl-cut hairstyle. He wore a green spandex jumpsuit accompanied by orange leg warmers. His headband was tied around his waist loosely in a belt-like manner.

"I'm sorry I ran into you," Ai smiled up at the taller boy. "I wasn't really paying attention."

"It is okay. I am Rock Lee, who are you?" He politely inquired.

"I'm Ai Uzumaki!" Ai declared proudly, her voice just a little too loud.

"Is that really a cause to yell?" A boy standing behind Lee mumbled.

Leaning to get a better look at the boy, Ai noticed that he had very long brown hair. His clothing was much less attention grabbing than Lee's. When he looked at her she saw that he had milky white eyes that were slightly disconcerting to her. His eyes tipped her off to the fact that he was a Hyuuga. Ai had seen a few members of the clan before but never this close. The eyes were definitely unsettling up close.

"What was that?" Ai asked defensively. "I'm an enthusiastic person and I tend to get loud sometimes. I don't know why that's your problem."

The boy didn't bother to respond and instead just kept giving her his unnerving stare.

The longer the boy didn't say anything, the more annoyed Ai got with him. "Who are you anyways?"

"I'm Neji Hyuuga."

Ai was still visibly annoyed when a man and a girl around Ai's age showed up.

"Neji, I hope you are not treating this youthful young lady rudely?" The man inquired. Ai couldn't help but notice the amazing similarities between the man and Lee. They had the same jumpsuit and even the same haircut.

"Of course not, Gai-sensei."

The young girl besides the man smiled at Ai and stuck her hand out. "Hi, I'm Tenten. I hope my teammates haven't been bothering you."

"No of course they're not. It's nice to meet you, I'm Ai."

Ai noticed the girl glance at her forehead where she wore her headband. "You're a genin like us, aren't you?"

"Yes! As of today I even have a team and a sensei!" Ai enthused. She was so excited to be on a team, even if that team had Sasuke on it.

"Do you mind my asking who your sensei is?" Gai politely inquired.

"I don't mind at all! My sensei's name is Kakashi Hatake. He seems a bit strange so far but I'm sure that's just because we had a horrible first impression."

"Ah, Kakashi, my eternal rival! You have been assigned a great sensei. He is a ninja worthy enough to be my rival!"

"Uh…okay then," Ai responded awkwardly, stepping back a little.

"He gets pretty fired up about Kakashi sometimes," Tenten gave a little laugh when she noticed Ai's step back.

"That's quite, er, interesting." Ai looked around and noticed the sun was starting to set. "Oh no! I'm supposed to go meet somebody!"

"Boyfriend?" Tenten teased good-naturedly.

"No, it's my brother." Ai replied quickly.

"Isn't that incest?" Neji asked smirking.

Ai sent a glare in his direction. "I've got to get home to make dinner. Pervert," Ai retorted. She turned to the other three, "It was very nice meeting all of you but I have to go now! Bye!"

Tenten and Lee waved goodbye as Ai dashed past them in the direction of her apartment. As she ran home, she contemplated the people she just met. She decidedly did not like Neji but thought the others seemed nice, if not a bit odd in the case of Lee and Gai. Ai quickly neared the apartments and slowed down. Naruto was sitting outside waiting for her to come home.

"Finally! I thought I was going to starve to death!" He whined.

"Thanks for worrying about if I was okay or not," She teased. "Besides, if you thought you were going to starve to death, why didn't you just make yourself some ramen?"

"Because it's your turn to do the cooking. Plus I hadn't really thought about it," He admitted.

"I thought ramen was all you thought about," Ai commented as she made her way into their apartment. Naruto followed behind, thinking about her statement.

"Well, that's true. That and Sa-" Naruto stopped, embarrassed. "I mean, just ramen."

Ai smiled knowingly at Naruto's almost slip. She was very aware of his crush on Sakura even though he wouldn't tell her himself. "Come on, I'll make some dinner," Ai suggested, slinging an arm over his shoulders. They walked into the kitchen together and separated so Ai could search for food. 'Ramen, ramen, ramen. Why don't we have any real food?' Ai thought.

"Naruto, tomorrow we're going shopping for real food, other than ramen, okay?"

"What about the survival exercises?"

"We'll go shopping afterwards."

Naruto sighed, "Okay."

Ai quickly cooked up some ramen and ate with her brother while discussing the day's events. Naruto complained about being on a team with Sasuke some more while Ai just listened to his ranting with a small smile on her face. After dinner was done, Ai cleaned up while Naruto went into the bathroom to change into his pajamas. Ai walked into their shared bedroom and lay down on her bed. 'I'm a ninja now,' Ai smiled contentedly at the thought.

A knock on the front door brought her out of her thoughts. Ai sat up on her bed and looked down the hall. She saw Naruto run out of the bathroom in his pajamas and heard him open the front door. After a short conversation that Ai couldn't quite make out, Naruto leaned back to look at her.

"AI! IT'S FOR YOU!" He yelled.

"Naruto! I can see you! You don't need to yell!" She scolded. Ai got off of her bed to walk to the front door. 'I wonder who it is.' Once she got to the doorway, she saw the boy from earlier, Lee, standing outside looking a little awkward. "Hi Lee, what are you doing here?" Before Lee could answer, Ai thought up another question. "How did you find where I live?"

Lee looked a little embarrassed, "I followed you home to see that you got home safe. I was wondering if you would like to take a walk with me, if it is not too much trouble. I would like to apologize for Neji acting rude towards you."

"Sure! I'd love to go on a walk. And don't worry about the whole Neji thing, I overreacted at the time. I did introduce myself pretty loudly." Ai turned to look at Naruto who was unabashedly listening to the entire conversation. "Bye Naruto!"

"Wait, wait, wait," Naruto stopped Ai before she left. "Make sure you get back by ten!"

"As you wish, Mom," Ai teased as she closed the door. She turned to Lee and smiled, "Lead the way."


	3. Fireflies

Okay, here is chapter 3. Like chapter 2, it has been changed a LOT, it has pretty much all of the dialogue changed and is much more descriptive. I'm happy with how this chapter turned out. Oh, and in this story, since they never mention Lee's parents, I'm just going to assume that he lives with his mother and father.

* * *

Ai and Lee were walking along in a comfortable silence.

"Where are we going?" Ai questioned.

"You will see soon." Lee responded.

The setting sun cast an orange glow over the village of Konoha. The dusty ground beneath them had a strange golden shine. As they walked along the street, the shops they passed were beginning to close up for the day. A few of the shopkeepers who recognized either Ai or Lee, waved as the couple passed then returned to their work. A smile formed on Ai's face as the familiarity of the village brought a sense of peace to her. 'I can't imagine living anywhere else.' Ai thought fondly. After a while, they neared a bunch of trees that lined the beginning of the forest.

"We're going into the forest?" Ai asked, somewhat skeptical.

"Yes, unless you are uncomfortable with that arrangement. Then we can head elsewhere." Lee replied nervously.

"No, it's fine." Ai reassured.

Once it was settled, Lee lead Ai into the forest. Maneuvering through the trees, they came upon a small secluded area. By the time they arrived, the sun had already sunk into the horizon. Looking around, Ai noticed that the forest had lush grass and a perfect view of the twinkling sky that was glittered with shining stars.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Ai saw small flashes of light floating around.

"Look, fireflies!" Ai exclaimed happily as she ran over to try and catch them.

Laughter rose in Ai's throat at the sheer joy of chasing the fireflies. Walking over, Lee joined Ai in her quest to catch fireflies. Pausing for a second, Lee focused on a firefly.  
Reaching out quickly, he caught one between his cupped palms.

"You caught one!" Ai cheered, rushing over to him.

Lee opened his palms a little so Ai could look in to see the firefly.

"I wonder how they do that." Ai mused to herself.

"The light is produced due to a chemical reaction called bioluminescense. The enzyme luciferase acts on luciferin in the presence of mangesium ions, Adenosene tripohsphate and oxygen to produce light." Lee replied very matter-of-factly.

Ai stared at Lee in shock. Her mouth dropped open as she watched Lee with curiosity.

"How do you know that?"

Lee just shrugged. "I think my mom probably told me when I was younger."

Still staring at Lee in wonder, Ai tried to focus elsewhere. Turning to the other fireflies,  
Ai tried, unsuccessfully, to catch a firefly.

Crossing her arms and pouting, Ai turned to Lee. "Why can't I catch any?"

"Because you are not being patient and you are running around and scaring them." Lee answered calmly.

"Hmph!" Ai exclaimed as she sat down on the cool grass.

Lee sat down next to Ai and opened his palms. Lee held his hand towards Ai. Understanding his gesture, Ai held out her hand next to his. The firefly that had been in Lee's hand crawled over onto Ai's hand. Smiling, Ai studied the small bug. It opened his tiny wings and flew away to join his fellow fireflies.

"I don't think you should give up trying to catch your own so soon." Lee said softly.

"Why not?"

"Look."

Ai looked around and saw a firefly directly in front of her. Reaching out carefully, Ai snatched the firefly in midair. The small bug tickled her palms as it crawled around trying to find a way out.

"I finally caught my own!" Cheered Ai.

"All it took was patience." Lee smiled.

Ai slowly opened her palms to let the captured firefly free. Once it flew away, Ai turned to Lee.

"Lee?"

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Of course." Lee looked at Ai, waiting.

"Why do you dress like your sensei?"

Lee pondered for a moment.

"I have the highest respect for Gai-sensei. He is like family to me. I have always wanted to do my best, and he has helped me get past the fact I cannot do ninjutsu or genjutsu. He has helped me improve my taijutsu to the point that I am efficient enough that I make up for my inability to achieve the other two jutsus."

Ai thought for a while. "I think it's cute that you're so close."

"Thank you." Lee blushed a little.

Yawning, Ai layed down and looked up at the stars above.

"Are you tired?" Lee asked.

"Yes, but I don't want to go home just yet. I like being out here with you."

Lee laid down next to Ai and studied the star constellations. A small snore came from beside him. He looked over to see Ai trying to stay awake unsuccessfully.

Sitting up, Lee checked to see if Ai was awake enough to make it home by herself. Deciding that she was too sleepy, Lee stood up and picked her up.

"Thanks Lee." Ai smiled sleepily with her eyes still closed.

"It is no problem." Lee started walking towards the village. Soon a pressure pressed against his chest. Lee looked down to see Ai had fallen into a deep sleep. 'She is very pretty'  
Lee thought to himself. He blushed once he realized what he had thought.

Once he arrived at Naruto and Ai's home, he knocked on the door twice.

Groggily, Naruto opened the door while wearing a strange nightcap and pajamas.

Blinking, Naruto leaned forward to see who was at the door. "Oh, hey Lee."

"I have brought Ai home."

"Put her on her bed." Naruto said while walking back to his bed exhausted.

Lee stepped inside the apartment and placed Ai on the other bed. "Goodnight Ai." Lee said as he started to leave.

"Night Lee." Whispered Ai as Lee closed the door.

Smiling to himself, Lee walked home feeling happier than he had in a while.


	4. Confusion

Here is chapter four of A Strange Relationship. I forgot how short these first few chapters were, this chapter is actually lengthened from the original and it's still really short. Hopefully the chapters will start getting longer soon. Anyways, enjoy. :D

The next morning, Ai woke up with the memory of her wonderful night still fresh in her mind and a smile on her face.

"Aiiii! Are you up yet!" Naruto yelled to Ai from a different room.

"No! I'm still sleeping."

"Then why can you answer me?"

"I'm sleep talking."

"Suuuure. Anyways, I have something of grave importance to talk to you about." Naruto said with a serious look on his face as he walked into the room.

"What is it?"

"I was just wondering…"

"Yes?"

"Do you like…."

"GET ON WITH IT!" Ai yelled in frustration.

"Sasuke."

"What about Sasuke?"

"Do you like him?"

"What a stupid question! Why in the world would I like Sasuke?"

"Well, you're always teasing him; girls supposedly tease people when they like them, which I see as a cruel and sadistic practice. I mean if you like someone why would you be mean to them." Naruto kept rambling on.

"NARUTO!"

Snapped out of his rant, Naruto looked over at Ai. "Yes?"

"I tease Sasuke because it's really fun to annoy him, not because I like him."

"Oh."

"Now, if you don't mind I need to get ready for training." Ai stared pointedly at Naruto. When he didn't leave right away, Ai just sighed at how oblivious her brother could be sometimes. "That means leave, Naruto."

"Oh right!" Naruto said laughing at himself as he walked to a different part of the apartment.

"Idiot." Ai mumbled, rolling her eyes and smiling.

Once Ai was ready, she locked the door to the apartment and started walking towards the team meeting place. To pass the time, Ai started to hum to herself.

"Why are you so happy?" Sakura inquired as she strode into place beside Ai.

"I just am. What's wrong with you? You don't look quite as happy as I am."

"Augh… this annoying boy asked me out for about the millionth time." Sakura complained.

"Naruto? Is my brother bothering you again?

"No, it wasn't Naruto this time. This time it was this really obnoxious freak named Rock Lee."

"Who did you say it was?" Ai asked, shocked at the name.

"His name's Rock Lee." Sakura said while looking at Ai curiously. "Why, do you know who he is?"

"I've just heard of him." Ai paused. "So, when did he ask you out?"

"I was just a little bit earlier this morning. I accidentally ran into him, he was probably stalking me or something." Sakura shrugged.

"Did you say no?"

"Well, duh! Of course I said no. If you saw him you'd know why. He's so weird looking. He has a bowl cut and huge caterpillar eyebrows. He also wears an ugly green jumpsuit with orange legwarmers. Orange and green, ew, those colors do not match. Besides I'm one hundred percent devoted to Sasuke!" Sakura giggled.

Ai joined in Sakura's laughs but in the pit of her stomach she felt uneasy. Lee liked Sakura?

Later during practice, Ai was relaxing near some trees while Sasuke and Naruto sparred. Poor Naruto was losing really badly.

"Is something bothering you, Ai?" Kakashi asked from behind Ai.

Ai spun around to see Kakashi-sensei leaning against a tree, waiting for an answer.

"Nothing's wrong." Ai replied while looking down at the ground.

"You're a horrible liar." Kakashi said with amusement in his voice.

"Fine, I know you probably don't want to hear about boy trouble but since you asked what was wrong, I'm going to tell you. There's a boy that I just met and I think I really like him, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me-"

"Is it Sasuke?" Kakashi interrupted.

"NO! Anyways, this boy asked another girl out and I guess it's really been bothering me."

"Have you tried talking to this boy about your feelings?"

"Well, no. I'm not sure I really want to."

"Well, you either get over the feelings on your own, or you talk to him and sort these things out. If you don't, you'll just keep moping."

"I guess I have no other option but to talk to him about this. Thank you Kakashi-sensei!" Ai smiled as she hugged Kakashi and started running to find Lee.

"We aren't done with practice!" Kakashi yelled after the retreating form of Ai.

"Thank you for being so understanding, Kakashi-sensei!" Ai teased as she ran farther away.

'Hopeless.' Kakashi thought to himself.


	5. Visit from Lee

Wow, this chapter is really short. Sorry about that, I promise the chapters will get longer soon. :)

After searching for Lee unsuccessfully, Ai returned home and flopped down onto her bed. Ai sighed and stared out the window wondering where Lee could possibly be.

"AI!" Naruto yelled at Ai.

"What!" Ai yelled back while still staring out the window.

"Someone's here to see you!"

"Who?"

"Rock Lee!"

_He's here?_ "What does he want?"

"Ask him yourself lazy! I'm going out." Naruto yelled back.

A few moments later, Lee was still standing outside the door awkwardly.

"Come in." Ai invited.

Lee took a few tentative steps inside.

"Close the door, please."

"Okay." Lee replied while closing the door.

"What do you want?" Ai sat up to get a better look at him.

"I just wanted to talk to you." Lee shrugged while staring straight into Ai's eyes.

Ai stared back and a slight blush was brought up to her face. She turned her head away, breaking eye contact with Lee.

"So… I heard you asked Sakura out." Ai said nonchalantly while carefully studying Lee's reaction.

"Yes, I did. She said no…again." Lee replied while looking down sadly.

"She's my friend and all, so I understand that she's a wonderful person, but I'm curious. Why do you like her?" Ai inquired.

"I like her because she is beautiful, smart, and a wonderful shinobi."

"But she's completely in love with Sasuke. That's not going to change anytime soon. She'll probably never say yes to you. Why don't you try to find someone who actually likes you back?"

Lee looked intensely at Ai with a hint of curiousness on his face. "Do you know somebody that likes me?"

_God, he's so oblivious, he's almost as bad as Naruto. _"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do know somebody that likes you." Ai tried to sound as calm as possible.

"Who!" Lee started to get really excited about the prospect of someone caring for him as more than a friend.

"Not telling." The blush came back to Ai's face as Lee got closer.

Lee moved back away a little, putting his finger on his chin while thinking. "Hmm… It's Tenten is in not!" Lee exclaimed.

"No." Ai answered while mentally slapping him.

"Well, I am determined to find out who this girl is!"

"Have fun with that." Ai sighed at the realization that Lee was probably never going to realize it was her that liked him.

"I most got ask around about this! Goodbye Ai! Thank you so much for your help!" Lee said excitedly as he headed towards the door. "Oh wait!" Lee ran back and hugged Ai tightly.

"B-bye Lee." Ai stuttered.

Lee let go and walked back towards the door, once the door was open he turned around and gave Ai his legendary pose. "Bye!"

_I wonder how he gets his teeth to shine like that…._


	6. Lee's Determination

"Hey Ai!" A voice called from behind. Ai turned around and saw Sakura running towards her.

"Yes, Sakura?"

"Want to come shopping with me?"

"Sure, that sounds like fun."  
"AWESOME! LET'S GO!" Sakura yelled as she grabbed Ai's arm and started to drag her towards the shops.

"I can walk on my own, y'know."

"Sorry, I just got carried away I guess." Sakura let go of Ai's arm and smiled at her.

~Later~

"Ooooh, look at all those pretty kimonos! Let's go inside!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Why are we here, Sakura?" Ai asked curiously.

"So I can get a kimono that will make Sasuke fall in love with me." Sakura replied.

"Suuuuure."

"Oh shut up." Sakura laughed. "Oh! Look at this one, it's the same color as Sasuke's shirt!"

"So? Are you planning on dressing like him now?" Ai asked as she looked at the shirt. 'Wow, it is the exact same color. Weird.'

"No I'm not going to start dressing like him! I just think it's cute." Sakura said while holding it up.

"And it reminds you of Sasuke." Ai sighed.

"Yep!" Sakura replied gleefully while hugging the kimono.

"You are aware it's not Sasuke right?"

"Of course I know it's not Sasuke! But it makes me think of him! I'm buying it!"

"Ok..."

"But before I buy it, I'm going to find the perfect kimono for you!"

"Oh joy." Ai replied sarcastically.

"Ooooh, look at this one! It's so cute!" Sakura said while holding up a light orange kimono.

"Wow, it is really pretty." Ai said.

She walked over to Sakura and took the kimono from her. Ai ran her fingers over the soft silk and stared at the beautiful pattern.

"So are you going to buy it?" Sakura asked.

"Actually, yes. It's really pretty."

"Yay! I'll meet you outside afterwards then."

~Later Outside the Shop~

Ai walked outside the shop and saw Sakura and Tenten talking. Tenten looked very angry as she was talking to Sakura.

"What's wrong, Tenten?" Ai asked.

"Lee just accused me of liking him! Where would he get such an idea? He was so adamant about it too." Tenten explained.

"Lee is such a loser. Why would he accuse you of that?"

"I have no idea!"

"OW!" Sakura exclaimed while holding the back of her head. "AI! Why'd you hit me?"

"Lee's my friend! Don't call him a loser." Ai said while glaring.

"Oh…right. I forgot." Sakura said. "Sorry." Sakura paused. "Did you have to hit me so hard?"

"Oops." Ai replied while faking being sorry.

"Yeah, oops." Sakura joked.

~Lee~

'I wonder who it is that likes me. Every girl I have asked has said no and either yelled at me or walked away angrily. I wonder if Ai was lying when she said someone like me. No! I must not doubt Ai like that. She would never do that.'

"I guess I will never know." Lee sighed.

"What will you never know?" Naruto asked from beside Lee.

"Ai told me that a girl in town liked me but every girl I have asked has told me that they did not like me." Lee looked down sadly.

"I'll help you!" Naruto yelled.

"You will?" Lee asked excitedly.

"Sure! Who have you asked so far?"

"Well, I have asked Tenten, Ino, and a bunch of other girls whose names I do not remember but I remembered they were in my class when I was a student."

"What about Sakura, Hinata, and Ai? You know them."

"Well, we can cross off Sakura because she always says no when I ask her to go out with me. We can also cross off Ai because why would she tell me a girl liked me if it was really her?"

"Good point. So let's go find HInata!"

"Thank you for helping me Naruto."

"No problem Bushy Brows!"


	7. Secrets Revealed

~Lee~

"Where do you think Hinata is anyways?" Lee asked Naruto.

"Do you know where Neji lives?" Naruto asked.

"Of course I do, he is my teammate."

"Well, maybe Neji knows where Hinata is."

"That is a great idea Naruto. Let us go and find Neji!"

~Ai~

"So are you guys doing anything later?" Tenten inquired.

"No, why?" Ai asked.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come over to my house to have a slumber party!"

"That sounds like fun!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Are you going to come, Ai?"

"Of course."

"Okay, come over around 7:30." Tenten smiled. Her face changed when she saw someone coming towards them. "Ugh!"

"What's wrong Tenten?" Ai asked.

"It's Lee again. Jeez, I already told him I didn't like him! I'm going to go and get ready for the slumber party! See ya!" Tenten started to run away just before Lee and Naruto reached Ai and Sakura.

"Hey Lee!" Ai smiled at Lee.

"Hello Ai, hello Sakura." Lee said which made Ai blush when he greeted her. Lee didn't notice although someone else did.

"Hi Lee." Sakura said somewhat reluctantly.

"Sakura! I have a question for you." Lee stated.

"What is it Lee?" Sakura asked, half annoyed and half curious.

"Can we talk in private?"

"Fine." Sakura said as she walked away with Lee.

"What's that about?" Ai asked her brother.

"Nothing…." Naruto replied. "Hey! Ai!"

"Yes?" Ai asked suspiciously.

"You like Bushy Brows don't you?"

"What!" Ai asked blushing intensely.

"You do!" Naruto said, pointing at her.

"Maybe, but don't tell him!"

"But he's going around asking every girl he knows if they like him and he keeps getting more depressed after each girl rejects him."

"Please don't tell him." Ai begged. "I'll be the one to tell him."

"Fine, go tell him now."

"I can't right now. I'll tell him when I'm ready."

"Fine, you big baby."

~Tenten's House~

"I'm hungry!" Ai complained. She was lying on the carpet holding her stomach to emphasize her hunger.

"Stop being such a drama queen. I ordered food, it should be here soon." Tenten replied while rolling her eyes at Ai.

"Yay!" Ai sat up and threw her arms in the air.

"So, what do you guys want to do until the pizza comes?" Tenten asked.

"How about Truth or Dare?" Sakura suggested.

"I'll start since it's my party." Tenten said as everyone got in a circle on the floor.

"Sakura, truth or dare?"

"Dare." Sakura said confidently.

"I dare you to go over to Naruto's and call him a sexy beast."

"WHAT!"

"Come on let's go." Tenten stood up and started to drag Sakura over to Naruto's house.

Once they arrived everyone had to block Sakura from running away. Giving up, Sakura resolutely went up to the door and knocked. Naruto answered the door and looked confused to see Sakura.

"Hello."

"Hey, Naruto. There's something I need to tell you. I think you're a sexy beast!" Sakura yelled and proceeded to sprint from the doorway with the rest of the girls following her back to Tenten's.

Everyone except for Sakura was laughing so hard it was hard to breathe. Sakura just sat down and glared at everyone.

"Ai, truth or dare?"

"Both, because I'm that awesome." Ai replied while Sakura and Tenten rolled their eyes.

"Ok, truth first then. Who do you like?"

"That's easy, Rock Lee."

"WHAT!" Everyone yelled.

"You heard me, moving on!" Ai yelled back.

"F-fine." Sakura replied shocked. "I dare you to kiss the boy who brings our food on the cheek."

"Ok! Only as long as it's not someone creepy."

"Deal."

Everyone sat around for a few minutes waiting for the doorbell to ring. Once it did, everyone moved to see the door.

"Chop, chop. Let's go, Ai." Tenten joked.

"I'm going, I'm going." Ai said as she got up and headed over to the door and opened it up to see some boy she'd never met before. Ai noticed that he had really pretty light blue eyes.

"Hello." The boy smiled at Ai.

'He has a really cute smile too' Ai thought to herself. "Hey, Tenten, did you already pay?"

"Yeah, I paid when I ordered it earlier." Tenten yelled back.

"Uh, I don't mean to sound forward but, what's your name?" The boy asked with a slight blush on his face. "I've never seen you before."

"I'm Ai Uzumaki, what's your name?"

"I'm Kai Shima."

"I'm hungry!" Tenten yelled from the other room. "Hurry up!"

"Be right there! Calm down!" Ai called back to Tenten. Ai turned back to Kai. "Bye." Ai smiled sweetly and leaned forward and kissed his cheek. When she pulled away, she saw that he was blushing like crazy.

"B-bye!" Kai said running off quickly.

Ai walked back into the other room with the food and a smile on her face.

"He was sooo cute!" Sakura exclaimed.

"I know! Wasn't he?"

"Yeah, whatever, now give me the food!" Tenten said while reaching for it.

Ai laughed and handed the food over. "Pig."

"Yes, and a hungry one too." Tenten joked.

The rest of the night was filled with eating and laughing. They finished their game of Truth or Dare and spent the rest of the night talking about their teammates and the boys they liked until they fell asleep peacefully.


	8. A New Friend

I would like to apologize in advance for the fact that Rock Lee is not actually in this chapter at all. There is a point to this chapter, and I promise this is a Rock Lee love story. Just not yet. :)

"Ai! You lazy bum, wake up!" Ino yelled into a sleeping Ai's ear. Ai shot straight up from her sleeping bat and looked around sleepily.

"Hmm?" Ai murmured.

"Breakfast time." Ino smiled, a little too happily for this early in the morning.

Ai sniffed the air and smelled the wonderful smell of waffles.

"Yum, waffles!" Ai yelled and ran over to Tenten, the keeper of the waffles. "Waffle?" Ai questioned while looking at her with puppy dog eyes.

"Just sit down and I'll give you a waffle."

"Yes ma'am!" Ai saluted. She took her place between Hinata and Sakura at the table. Tenten served the waffles and purposefully served Ai last. Ai glared at Tenten playfully from her seat.

Ai looked down at her syrup-less waffle. "My waffles are naked."

"Can't you go get the syrup yourself?" Tenten asked while sighing.

Ai pretended to be insulted. "I'm a guest and that would be very rude to make a guest get the syrup in a house that is not her own and how would I know-"

"FINE, I'LL GET THE SYRUP!" Tenten interrupted.

"You like to annoy her, huh Ai?"

"Watch out Ino, my next victim might be you. Especially after my rude awakening this morning." Ai joked.

Tenten walked back to the table and slammed the syrup down in front of Ai. "Here's your syrup your majesty."

"Uh, I prefer to be called Ai, the supreme ruler of the world." Everyone else rolled their eyes at Ai's silliness.

"You get really weird in the morning, don't you?"

"Yep!" Ai exclaimed as she poured syrup on her waffle.

"So, Sakura," Ai smiled playfully, "are you excited for training today?"

"Why?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Because I can't wait to see your face when Naruto asks you about last night."

"You can't come. I won't let you."

"You can't do that! I have to train too! We're on the same team!"

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Asked Tenten.

"Well, I could just wander around Konoha all day. But what will I do about Kakashi?"

"Don't worry about it, I'll make up an excuse. Besides, you'll probably be done with your roaming before Kakashi even shows up."

"Thanks Sakura. But don't think I won't hear about everything from Naruto later today."

~Sometime after the sleepover~

'I'm so bored!' Ai thought to herself as she walked around Konoha for the fifth time.

"Ai?" A voice asked from behind.

"Yes?" Ai turned around and saw Kai. "Kai! Hey!"

"Hey." Kai smiled that cute smile of his again.

"Didn't expect to see you so soon again." Ai smiled back.

"Yeah, I know, it's weird. I guess it was bound to happen since we both live in Konoha."

"Hey, do you want to hang out with me today? I've just been walking around by myself with nothing to do."

"Um, su-sure." Kai stuttered a bit. He seemed a bit startled at the sudden proposal.

"Great! Follow me!" Ai grabbed Kai's hand and pulled him along.

~A few minutes later~

Ai hadn't realized it, but she had just lead Kai to the exact place Lee had taken her that one night.

"Wow, it's really pretty here." Kai said looking around in amazement.

"Yeah, it really is."

"How'd you find it?"

"Oh, um, a friend showed it to me."

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Kai sat down and looked up at Ai expectantly. Ai joined him on the ground and thought about what they should talk about.

"Hmm, do you have a girlfriend?" Ai was lightly blushing after asking. She looked over and noticed that Kai was blushing too.

"N-no, I don't have a girlfriend. Do you?"

"A girlfriend? No. I don't have a boyfriend either." Ai joked playfully.

The two sat and talked for a while and soon started joking around and got to know each other better. For the most part, Kai had lost his shyness and Ai was starting to think about what an awesome boy he was.

'I think I might like Kai.' Ai thought to herself. 'Wait, I can't like Kai, I like Lee. Ah! What is happening to me?'

"Can I ask you a question?" Kai's voice broke Ai out of her thoughts.

"You just did, but you can ask me another question if you want."

"Well, last night, I was just wondering, why did you kiss my cheek?"

Ai looked at the ground and blushed. "Well, um, it was a dare for a game of truth or dare."

"Oh." Ai detected what sounded like a hint of sadness in Kai's voice. "So, you didn't want to kiss me, you just had to because of a dare. That makes sense I guess, I mean, I was just a stranger. Well, I guess I still am. I mean-"

"I kinda did want to kiss you. I know that sounds weird but you're really cute and um, I didn't want to kiss you on the cheek. I kinda wanted to kiss you on the lips. And, I still kinda do." Ai couldn't even look at Kai she was so embarrassed that she'd just told him that.

"I kinda want to kiss you on the lips too." Kai looked shyly over at Ai and leaned in. Ai responded by leaning in as well.

It resulted in a very shy, very soft kiss between the two.


	9. Rhyming Names

Yeah, yeah, I know. _Another _chapter without Rock Lee in it? Patience dear readers, I have a plan. And yes, it does eventually involve Lee. :)

Ai and Kai broke apart from the kiss and stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds.

"Did we just-?" Kai asked in a somewhat dazed voice.

"Kiss? Yeah, I think we did." Ai replied, just as dazed.

"Well, that was unexpected. I mean, we just met and all, and I mean, I've never kissed anyone before. And-"

"Kai, you're rambling. Did you just say I was your first kiss?"

Kai looked away as if embarrassed. "Well, um, yeah."

"It was my first kiss too."

"Are you sorry we kissed? I mean, we just met. You kinda wasted your first kiss on a stranger. Shouldn't it have been a boyfriend or somebody?"

"Are you sorry that we kissed?"

"Well, um, not really. I mean, if that's okay with you."

"Why wouldn't it be? It's not like I didn't realize what was happening. By the way, you say 'I mean' and 'um' a lot." Ai teased, trying to lighten the mood. "I don't really regret kissing you at all. In fact, if you don't mind, I'd like to try this kissing thing again."

"I don't mind." Kai leaned in once again and was met with Ai's lips. When they broke apart for a second time, both were smiling. "I think I'm starting to really like you Ai."

"That's good to know. Otherwise us kissing would feel really weird. Just so you know, I'm starting to like you too, Kai." They sat in peaceful silence for a while. Well, until Ai started cracking up for no apparent reason.

"A-are you okay?" Kai looked absolutely shocked at Ai's sudden outburst. "What's going on?"

"I just realized something! Our names rhyme, Ai and Kai!" Ai managed to say in between fits of laughter.

Kai looked at her like she was crazy but managed to crack a smile of his own. Soon, he joined in with her contagious laughter. The laughing went on for quite a few minutes before the two of them settled down. Once they had subdued their laughter, Kai transitioned into his serious mode. "Ai, would you like to go on a date with me? A real date?"

"Kai, I would very much like that."

"So, where should I pick you up? I don't know where you live. We could meet up somewhere instead if that's easier for you."

"I think we should meet at one of my favorite places in this entire village."

"Oh, and where would that be?"

"Ichiraku Ramen. Is seven alright with you?"

"Seven's fine. It's a date. I will see you then."

"Wonderful. Well, I should get going. My brother is probably wondering where I am by now. Well, that is if he stopped arguing with our teammate to even notice I didn't show up to practice. I should head home anyways. I had a great day, thank you so very much." Ai stood up and brushed herself off.

"I had a fantastic day as well. See you tomorrow!"

As Ai walked away, she took a look behind her and saw that Kai had lain back down on the grass. She also noticed that he had an adorable smile on his face. Ai thought about his smile for a long time as she walked home. "He's so cute." Ai said to herself while she was lost in thought.

"Who is?" A voice interrupted Ai's thoughts and brought her attention back to what was going on around her. Ai saw Naruto standing a little ways in front of her.

"Nobody." Ai lied.

"Rock Lee?" Naruto asked with an evil little grin on his face.

"As a matter of fact, no, I was not referring to Lee."

Naruto got a confused look on his face. Well, more confused than it normally was. "But, I thought you liked bushy-brows?"

"Well, I did. Do. I don't know. I'm kind of confused. I like him, but he likes Sakura and now I've met a new guy and I like him too, but I still like Lee. Oh, and I have a date with the new guy tomorrow."

Naruto looked even more confused. After a few moments of processing what Ai had just said, his evil grin resumed. "Really?"

"No, I'm lying. Yes really!" Ai playfully slapped the back of Naruto's head. "Why?"

"Oh, no reason. Where are you going?"

"Ichiraku Ramen." Ai thought for a second and realized Naruto might have sneaky intentions. "Hey! Don't even think of interrupting my date!"

"Of course."

"That's not convincing."

"Whatever you say, dear sister." Naruto's evil grin was still in place and it didn't look like it was going anywhere anytime soon.


	10. Date

~Next Day~

Ai had been waiting patiently all day for her date. Excitement ran through her just at the thought of getting to see Kai again. It seemed like Lee had been pushed far out of her thoughts for the time being. Naruto had been acting suspicious all day and Ai was sure that he was going to do something during her date that would surely embarrass her; but every time she brought it up with Naruto, he feigned nonchalance saying things like "Why would I want to be around you while you're on a date? Ew". It wasn't very convincing and Ai wasn't fooled. When seven o' clock finally rolled around, there was a knock on the door almost as soon as the clock ticked to seven. Ai rushed to get to the door before Naruto and succeeded. She paused in front of the door and made sure she was presentable before she opened the door. She sighed, put on a smile, and opened the door. Kai stood standing in front of the door looking slightly nervous, but smiling none the less.

"Hi." Ai greeted Kai with a simple greeting to hide her excitement.

"Hello Ai, you look wonderful." Kai replied shyly.

"Thank you. You look wonderful as well."

"Gag me." Naruto commented from his seat at the kitchen table.

Ai turned around and stuck her tongue out at Naruto.

"Are you ready to go?" inquired Kai.

"Hold on a minute." Naruto said as he stood up and came towards the two.

"What now?" Ai was already exasperated with her brother and she was more suspicious of him than ever.

"I want to get to know you first." Naruto narrowed his eyes at Kai.

Ai rolled her eyes at Kai to show how ridiculous she thought this was and then glared at Naruto. "Is this really necessary?"

"I'm not going to let just anyone go out with my sister."

"It's okay, Ai. I don't mind." Kai was trying to break up the growing tension between the two Uzumaki's.

"Sensible. That's a good trait to have." Naruto commented as he led Kai to a chair at the kitchen table. He then went to the other side and sat down so he could interrogate Kai.

"First off, how old are you?"

"I'm fourteen."

"Hmm, so you're a year older than my sister, couldn't find anyone your own age?"

"It's just a year. I could probably find someone my own age, but I want to date Ai."

"Okay. Anyways, why do you want to date Ai?"

"Well, I want to date Ai because from what I've seen so far, she is a wonderful, nice, funny, beautiful girl who has been nice to me since the moment I met her." Kai defended.

"Hmm, I guess she's got you fooled."

"Naruto!" Ai had been quiet throughout the questions up until this point when she decided she had had enough. "Don't try to give him the wrong impression of me!"

"I was just kidding!" Naruto defended. He turned and looked Kai straight in the eyes, "I guess I can let you go out with her." After declaring this, Naruto nodded his head as if he approved of his decision.

"Thanks for your permission, dad." Ai replied sarcastically. "I would have gone out with him anyways." Ai stuck her tongue out at Naruto playfully. She grabbed Kai's hand and gently pulled him out of his seat and started to drag him towards the door.

"Be back by nine or I send the attack dogs!" Naruto yelled after them warningly.

"We don't have any attack dogs!" Ai yelled without looking back.

"I'll send Kiba after you then!"

Ai laughed as Kai looked slightly confused. "Let's go get some ramen!"

The date went by quite nicely with no problems. The ramen was delicious and Naruto didn't try to bother them again during the date. Once they were both finished and Kai paid for both of them he took her hand in his and started to lead her somewhere.

"Where are we going?" Ai asked as she followed obediently.

"You'll see." Kai winked and went back to leading.

They walked for a while until they reached the training ground with the three wood posts where Kakashi's bell test had taken place.

"What are we doing here?" Ai couldn't figure out why Kai would bring her here.

"Come on." Kai jumped on top of the middle post. He smiled down at Ai from his perch. He had one knee against his chest with one arm wrapped around it and his other leg was dangling off of the post. "Well are you coming?" He asked as he placed his chin on his knee and tilting it slightly to the side.

"Sure." All Ai could think about at that moment was about how cute he looked as he sat like that. She hopped up onto the left post and positioned herself so that both of her legs were dangling off. Ai turned and looked at Kai to see him with his head still leaning against his knee and looking over at her while smiling. Ai smiled back but then decided to look up at the almost moonless night.

"It's a crescent moon tonight." Kai commented.

"Yep, it's almost a new moon."

"I like it most when there's a full moon out; it's so much more beautiful than the plain old dark sky." He stared up at the sky in wonder. Ai was staring at him instead of the sky. He was so cute sometimes. Ai developed a slight blush.

"Are you blushing?" Kai was smiling at her and she hadn't even noticed he'd stopped looking at the sky.

"Maybe." Ai smiled back.

Suddenly, he glanced behind him and jumped off the post. Curious, Ai turned her head and looked behind her too. Kai was walking over to the KIA memorial stone. Ai jumped down from the post and walked over to him. He was looking down at the stone; it looked like he was staring at a particular name. Kai noticed that Ai had followed him. "That was my father." Kai pointed to the name he was looking at.

"What happened to him?"

"He died in the battle against the nine tailed fox. My mom begged him not to go; she was desperate to keep him safe. I was only about a year old at the time. My dad was killed in an attempt to save the village and that gives me some comfort. Knowing my father died with honor while protecting his village. I never got to know him though." Kai's voice had started to crack during the last sentence and tears were welling up in his eyes. Ai embraced him tightly from behind until Kai started to turn so he could embrace her back. Since he was taller, he had to lean over a bit so that he could cry into her shoulder.

"It's okay Kai, everything will be alright. I never got to meet either of my parents. All I have is Naruto and almost every person in the village hates him since he contains the nine tailed demon." As soon as she said it, Ai had realized what a mistake she had made. Kai stiffened up and pulled away.

"Naruto holds the nine tailed demon?" Kai had a very serious tone to his voice.

Ai tried to hold them back, but she couldn't control the tears that came. "I understand if you don't want to associate with me anymore. I get it, it would be hard." Ai tried to stop the tears, but they just wouldn't.

At the sight of her tears, Kai's face softened from the glare he had put on. "No, Ai. Please don't cry; I would never leave you over something like this. It's not your fault and it's not Naruto's fault. It was just a shock to find out." Kai tried to console Ai but she still wouldn't stop crying. Trying to comfort her, he grabbed her in his arms like he had done earlier and held on tight. "No matter what is inside your brother, I still really care for you." He whispered in her ear.

Ai's tears had slowly subsided until they were almost gone. Kai was gently stroking her hair and rocking them back and forth. "I really care for you too Kai." Ai leaned up and tentatively placed a kiss on his lips. Kai responded by kissing her and holding her tighter. During a pause, Ai noticed that they were sitting on the ground. "When did this happen?"

"When did what happen?"

"When did we sit down?"

"While you were crying, I guess you didn't notice."

"Guess not." Ai started to laugh.

Kai placed a kiss on her forehead and moved her head against his chest and put his chin on top of her head. Ai sighed contentedly, closed her eyes, and snuggled into Kai's chest in pure bliss.

Unbeknownst to them, a set of eyes was watching from the forest.


	11. Seems Like a Dream

Look! Lee's actually in this chapter! :D

...

~Lee's POV~

"Lee. Wake up, Lee." A voice called out lovingly next to my ear. I opened my eyes to see Ai smiling down at me. She looked extremely adorable. Wait? Why was I thinking that?

"Good morning sleepyhead!" Ai leaned down and kissed my nose. What is happening right now?

"Would you like some breakfast? I was just about to prepare some pancakes but I wanted to wake you up first!" Ai said quite energetically.

"S-sure." I managed to get out.

"Alright! I'll get started on breakfast right away!" Ai smiled and then headed towards the door. Before she left she turned around and smiled at me again. This was turning out to be one strange morning.

Once Ai left the room, I looked around and noticed I was in a bedroom that was not my own. The bed I was on was gigantic and it had comfortable light green sheets on top. I looked down and noticed that I was wearing green sweatpants but I was not wearing a shirt. Embarrassed I quickly pulled off the top layer of the sheets and tried to wrap them around me. My face flushed as I realized Ai must have just seen me with my shirt off. I looked around the room once more and saw two doors other than the one Ai had just exited. One door was slightly ajar and I could see a bathroom with a light green them and the other was a sliding door that led into a walk-in closet. I could see my clothing and some girl's clothing that I assumed must be Ai's. Where am I and why do we both have clothing in a closet together?

Light was streaming in through one of the windows and it gave the room some natural light. I could see dust motes drifting through the air in front of me. It was very calm and peaceful. I could not help but feel at ease here. Interrupting my thoughts, Ai's head popped back in by the door the lead to the hallway.

"Getting up sometime today?" She playfully grinned at me and waited for my answer.

"Yeah, just a moment."

"Got it!" Ai's head disappeared once again.

I stretched my legs and stood up. I walked over to the closet and grabbed the closet shirt I could find. I ditched the sheet and put on the shirt. I walked over to the door and took another glance around the room. While looking at the bed, I realized something. It looked like more than one person had been sleeping in it. Was Ai sleeping next to me? This is just getting stranger and stranger.

I walked through the hallway until I reached the kitchen where Ai had her back to me as she made the pancakes. They smelled absolutely delicious. She sensed my presence as I sat down at the table and smiled at me from her place by the stove. She was doing a lot of smiling today, I noticed.

"Would you like syrup and butter on your pancakes?"

"J-just syrup, please." I still had not fully comprehended what was happening this morning.

Ai walked over to the table and with a flourish, presented me with my pancakes. "Here you go!" I thanked her and watched her walk back over to the stove. I looked around the kitchen and noticed that it had the same calming feeling that the bedroom had. The light gave the kitchen an almost dream-like feel.

Ai got her pancakes and placed them on the opposite side of the table and sat down. "Did you sleep well?" Ai questioned while putting syrup on her pancakes.

"Yes, I did." I replied before I took a bite of the pancakes.

"That's wonderful!" Ai smiled at me once again. "What do you want to do today?"

"I d-do not k-know."

"What's wrong? You're doing an awfully lot of stuttering today." Ai sent me a look of worry and concern.

"What do you mean?"

"You're not acting like yourself. Do you need to rest some more. Do you have a fever?" As she said the last part, she reached over and felt my forehead. "You feel normal, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I am fine." The look on her face told me that she wasn't entirely convinced. "I promise that I am fine. Trust me." I forced a smile to try to convince her.

"Okay." Ai replied warily as she went back to eating her pancakes.

"So, uh, what would you like to do today?" I tried to start a conversation so that she would not worry about me anymore.

"I don't care; as long as I'm with you I'll be happy." My face flushed. How long have I been sleeping and what have I been missing?

"We could go visit Tenten if you would like. We haven't seen her in a while." Ai suggested.

"Sure, sounds like fun." Maybe I can ask Tenten what is going on.

~Tenten's House~

Ai knocked on the door three times and stepped back to wait for Tenten. Tenten opened the door and smiled when she saw us. "Hello, please come in." Tenten gestured.

"Thank you." Ai replied and stepped inside. I followed after her and Tenten closed the door behind me.

"How are you?" Tenten asked as she sat down on her couch and motioned us towards a loveseat. For some reason, I felt really comfortable sitting this close to Ai. Tenten and Ai started talking about how they were doing and different types of weapons and techniques. I just sat next to Ai and occasionally added something to the conversation. I was brought out of my thoughts as I felt Ai laughing next to me. I looked at her and watched as she laughed at something Tenten had said. I found myself thinking about how beautiful Ai looked. Do I like her? This feels different than how I feel about Sakura. Ai sure seems to like me. As I was contemplating this to myself, Ai looked over at me and smiled. I felt my face flush yet again.

"Aw, that's so cute Lee!" Tenten squealed.

"W-what is?" I tried to hide my blush, quite unsuccessfully.

"You're blushing! I just love seeing you two together, it's so adorable." Tenten explained.

Ai leaned towards me and kissed me on the lips. I just sat there shocked. 'Ai is kissing me' was all I could think about at that moment. Before I could process what I was doing, I realized I was kissing her back. She pulled away and smiled up at me and this time I smiled back with a real smile. This all felt so natural to me even though I could not explain why. There was a warm feeling inside of me that I seemed to feel every time Ai was near me. I did not know what it was, but I knew that I did not want it to go away.

We stayed at Tenten's for over an hour chatting. We eventually decided to leave. Tenten waved from her doorframe as we walked away. I waved goodbye and then turned to Ai. "What do you want to do now?"

"Follow me." Ai grabbed my hand and started pulling me to her destination. She paused for a moment and looked at me. "Close your eyes." I did as I was told and trusted that Ai would not let me run into anything.

After a few minutes, Ai told me that I could open my eyes. We were in a heavily wooded part of the forest. I looked over at Ai and saw her smiling at me. Ai led me over to a grouping of the trees and sat down. She pulled me down with her and leaned against me. Without realizing what I was doing, I placed my arm around her shoulders.

"I love you Lee."

...

"I love you too."

"Uh, Lee? Sorry to disappoint you, but I only like you as a friend. Maybe a little less after this whole situation." A voice said as he poked me in the side.

I opened my eyes to find myself on my bed in my room with Naruto staring down at me. "Oh! Naruto! Sorry, I was dreaming." I shot up and looked around.

"Okay…." Naruto was looking at me weird.

"What are you doing in my house anyways?" I asked Naruto.

"We're going to look for the girl who likes you again today, remember?"

"Oh. That is right."

"I'll wait for you outside." Nartuo said while leaving the room.

That dream, it was so real. Could I possibly have feelings for Ai?

Once I joined Naruto outside, he turned to me, "Hey, guess what!"

"What?"

"Ai's got a boyfriend apparently. His name's Kai. He seems nice enough from what I could tell."

A strange feeling burned inside of me upon hearing this news. Ai has a boyfriend. This did not sit well with me.

Could I be jealous?


	12. Just a Friend?

~Lee~

"Naruto?"

"What?"

"Can we just skip this for today? We can do this tomorrow. I do not feel up to it right now." I explained to Naruto. There was a feeling in my stomach that made me uneasy. Naruto telling me that Ai has a boyfriend has made me all confused.

Naruto was looking at me weirdly. After a moment he replied, "I guess so. I'll just go train instead. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Thank you, Naruto." I was very grateful that Naruto did not ask me any more questions. Naruto waved goodbye and walked away, probably towards the training fields. Now, I must go talk to Ai. I need to figure out why this is upsetting me so much. I searched for Ai for quite a while but I still did not find her. I was about to give up when I heard a voice call my name. I turned around to see Naruto running towards me. "Naruto? What are you doing here?"

Between deep breaths, Naruto managed to get out, "Ai… is… by the… training grounds."

'Naruto is really out of breath, he should probably work out more' was all that I could think of at first. Once I processed what he said, I wondered why he had told me that. "Why did you run all the way here to tell me that?"

"I figured that you'd want to talk to Ai," He paused to take a breath, "for more clues about the girl that likes you." Naruto smiled at me as if he was a genius for thinking of this.

"Oh, thank you. I will go talk to her now then." I replied.

"Bye." Naruto plopped down onto the ground while still trying to catch his breath.

I headed towards the training grounds all while trying to figure out the weird feelings that I had started to feel for Ai. The feelings are so different than the feelings I have for Sakura. As I neared the training grounds, I heard some strange sounds. The person sounded like they were making short gasps and it almost sounded like they were crying. Then I heard a voice that was definitely Ai crying out for someone to please stop. Someone must be hurting Ai! I must save her!

Without thinking I quickly ran to where the sounds were coming from. I saw Ai on the ground with a guy kneeling next to her with his hands on her. He must be hurting her! I ran towards them and kicked the person away from Ai.

The guy got up and wiped his mouth where some blood was dripping out. "What was that for!"

I got into a fighting stance and stood in front of Ai to protect her. He returned the gesture and got into a fighting stance of his own. He started to weave signs for a jutsu when Ai stepped in between the guy and me.

"Stop this! Don't fight!"

Ai moved between the two, "Stop this! Don't fight!"

Kai turned to Ai and asked, "Who is this guy and why did he just kick me in the face?"

"He's my friend, Rock Lee. I have no idea why he just attacked you, Kai." Ai replied to Kai. She then turned to Lee, "Why did you do that?"

~Lee~

"Why did you do that?" Ai asked me.

I just stood there shocked. What had I just done? This guy was her boyfriend, Kai. Thinking back on it, I realized that Kai must have been tickling her. I am so stupid. Why would I react that way? She had not even looked unhappy.

Realization hit me. I liked Ai. I looked back at the clues she had given me and I comprehended that Ai must have been the girl who liked me back and I had been oblivious to it. While I had been stupid and went everywhere looking for the girl who liked me, she had been there all along. And now she had a boyfriend.

Is this how Ai must have felt when I went after Sakura? If it was, I am a horrible person for doing that to someone who cared about me. While I was thinking this, I heard something that started to break my heart.

"He's just my friend." Ai explained to Kai.

Just a friend? She thinks of me as just a friend now? I am so much more than that, or at least I want to be more than just a friend to her. "Just a friend? Is that what you think of me? Is that all that I am to you now? Because I realize now that you are so much more to me than just a friend." I knew what I was saying was so wrong to say. I was just so surprised by my revelation that I did not even have time to think things through. She had a boyfriend and she liked him now. I missed my chance to finally have someone love me. Someone had actually liked me. A girl who was beautiful, nice, funny, and caring. Someone who did not mind the way that I looked and looked past that to see the real me.

What had I done? I just ruined it. I might have just messed up her relationship with Kai as well which would hurt Ai which is something I would never want to do.

"W-what? What are you talking about Lee?" Ai looked confused, and a little scared at the raise of my voice. She stepped back, closer to Kai. I felt a twinge of pain as I saw Kai wrap his arms around her. I have no right to ruin their happiness. I should just shut up and leave them alone. Kai looked at me as if I were crazy. Which I probably was at this moment.

"I am sorry. I do not know what I was talking about. Forget everything I just said. I will be leaving now. Goodbye Ai." I left before she responded and ran home.

Ai watched Lee run away while she stepped out of Kai's embrace. "Are you okay Kai?" She asked.

"I'm a little confused."

"Me too."

"Why would he say all of those things? And why did it look like you wanted him back?"

"Excuse me? Kai, I want to be with you. I don't know why he would say those things."

"Please, tell me the truth. Have you ever liked him and wanted to be with him?" Kai asked sternly but his face betrayed his sadness.

"Well, I did like him, but he didn't ever realize it, and then I met you-"

"So I was a rebound?" Kai interrupted angrily.

"NO! I know this sounds like a lie but when I met you all I saw was a really cute boy with an amazingly cute smile that could stop any girl's heart from beating. I didn't see you as some boy I was going to use for a rebound. I would never do that. I'm not like that at all." Ai desperately tried to explain.

Kai took a deep breath. "I have to think about this for a while."

"A-are we breaking up?" Ai asked sadly.

"I don't know. I have to think things through. I'm not sure I'm comfortable being in a relationship with a girl who gets a crush on any boy she meets." Kai turned and left.

Ai felt like he had just slapped her in the face. She couldn't stand it anymore; she fell to the ground as tears welled in her eyes. What just happened?


	13. Worry

"AI!" Naruto yelled just a few inches away from Ai's ear.

"What do you want?" Ai glanced over at her brother while sitting on her bed with her chin resting on her knees. She had been absorbed in her thoughts of Lee and Kai.

"Are you just going to sit there all day? I mean, you haven't even gone to any of our training sessions in a while and I think Kakashi-sensei is starting to realize I'm lying to him about why you can't come."

Ai jumped out of her spot on the bed. "Oh no! Training! I haven't gone since that time Kakashi-sensei gave me some advice! I'm a horrible ninja!" Ai ran around frantically looking for her shoes. Naruto rolled his eyes and threw Ai's shoes at her that had been sitting by her bed.

"What time are we supposed to meet for training anyways?"

"Uh, sometime this evening."

"Great, that gives me plenty of time to find Kakashi-sensei and apologize to him about not coming to any of our meetings! Do you know where I can find him?" Ai looked up at her brother who was now searching through their fridge for something to eat.

Naruto took his head out of the fridge and shrugged. "Porn shop?"

"Okay, few flaws in that one. One, there is no actual porn shop in Konoha. Two, I wouldn't be able to go in to check if he was there anyways." Ai pointed out.

Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment, "Huh, I guess you've got a point."

"Wow, thanks for that wisdom." Ai sighed and calmed herself. "Sorry, knowing Kakashi-sensei, he could be anywhere." Ai said to herself more than Naruto. Once Ai had gathered all her ninja tools, she stood up. "I'm going to go look for him." On her way out the door, Ai looked back at Naruto and narrowed her eyes, "Don't get into any trouble."

"I won't, I won't." Naruto reassured her.

"Good." Ai glared at Naruto for a few seconds more then left the apartment. 'I might as well check out some of the bookstores.' Ai thought to herself.

Back in the apartment, Naruto sat in the kitchen waiting for his ramen to be ready. 'Aw man. I just remembered that Kakashi-sensei was going to give Sasuke some extra training by the memorial stone. Ah well, she'll probably find them eventually.'

* * *

"I cannot believe I made such a scene." Lee said sighing into his hand. "Ai will never like me now. The one girl in the village who actually liked me and I missed all the signs and then screwed up everything."

"Lee! Sweetie, you in there?" His mom opened the door and looked into Lee's room. Seeing Lee sitting forlornly on his bed with his head on his hands, his mom decided to investigate. "What is wrong, Lee?"

Lee sighed once more and looked up at his mom. "I have lost my one chance at love." For emphasis, Lee fell backwards onto his bed to show how he had given up.

With a look of slight concern on her face, Lee's mom walked over and perched on the end of her son's bed. "You do not really believe that do you? I am sure you are blowing this out of proportion. You are young. You will find love just as your father and I did. Now please explain to me why you think you have lost your one chance at love."

"Well, there is this one girl named Ai that I just recently realized liked me. But she has also recently realized that she likes someone else and now she has a boyfriend. I am so clueless. She had given me hints that she had feelings for me but I was too blind to see them so she moved on just as I realized my feelings for her. I decided to confront her with my feelings because I knew in my heart that I like her more than I ever liked Sakura. When I went to tell her of my feelings she was with her boyfriend and I confronted them. I said some very stupid things and I may have ruined the friendship I had with Ai. I also caused issues between her and her boyfriend. I am afraid I have messed everything up and Ai will have her heart broken. She will not be happy which is not what I wish. I want her to be happy even if I cannot be the one to make her happy. To make her happy I must help mend her relationship with her boyfriend! If this will make Ai happy it will make me happy and that is what matters." Lee jumped up from his bed and grabbed his mother in a hug. "Thank you so much mother! I now know what to do!" He released his mother and ran from the room in search of Kai.

Lee's mother sat confused on the end of her son's bed. "What just happened?"

* * *

Kai sat alone at his desk in his room, staring outside at the sky. He was in deep thought about the recent events. 'Should I break up with Ai? I like her so much, but what if her heart is with that Lee guy? But what if she really does want to be with me now?' Kai put his head down on his desk. 'This is all happening so fast. I don't know if I can handle this much drama. This would be so much easier if I didn't have to care so much.'

A cold gust of wind blew in from the open window. The wind made a shiver from down his spine. Kai looked up at the sky. 'It's such a warm day, where'd that sudden burst of cold come from? Wait a minute. I didn't leave the window open.' Kai reached up to pull the window closed when a hand was placed over his mouth and he was pulled backwards out of his chair. Kai struggled to see his captor but to no avail.

"I do not want to hurt you, but if it takes force to get you to come with me then I will." The voice came from behind him but not from the person holding him. The voice was vaguely familiar but Kai was too stressed out to place the voice. While struggling he heard someone whisper the word sorry. A pressure on the back of his neck made Kai feel dizzy. His captor let go of him and as he fell Kai thought he saw a glimpse of orange. Then, all he saw was black.

* * *

"Dude, I think you killed him." A voice filled the quiet room.

"He's clearly still breathing you idiot!" A second voice answered.

"Take his pulse!" A third voice called out.

"Everybody calm down! I will take care of this." The fourth and final person took command and checked the body for a pulse. "He is still alive."

"Good, Ai would kill me if he was dead." The first voice responded.

"Would you just shut up? Let's just get out of here and get on with this stupid plan." The second voice sounded annoyed.

"Hey! It's not stupid!"

"Please, let us just go." The leader commanded. He lifted the body and the four ninja took their leave.


	14. I Got Kidnapped By Them?

Kai's head was throbbing. His neck was sore from where he'd been hit. Kai sat up and immediately regretted it when his head started to spin. 'Ugh, I guess I sat up too fast.' Kai thought. He tried to look around at his surroundings but it was completely black in the room. 'Great, how am I going to find a way out of here if I can't even see where I am?' Kai leaned forward and tried to make out anything in his surroundings. He thought he saw a movement but he couldn't be sure. He leaned back and tried to be as still as possible. 'Is the person who kidnapped me watching me right now?'

Echoing his earlier kidnapping, once again a hand was placed on Kai's mouth. Instead of fighting like last time, Kai sat still. "I do not want to hurt you, so do not move," a voice whispered just like last time.

A light flickered on and Kai could finally make out his surroundings. He could tell it was an apartment which seemed like an odd place to keep someone you kidnapped. There were blinds over the windows so Kai couldn't see outside. Under the window sat a single bed with a few plants sitting around the room. Kai minimally shifted his head so that he could barely make out a small kitchen area. 'Well, this is definitely an apartment. But who kidnapped me!'

A door slammed open and three bodies cast their shadows into the room.

"Why am I here again?" One of the ninjas sighed. The ninja to his right grabbed him and pulled him inside. They walked into the apartment and closed the door behind them.

"You are crucial to our master plan!" The voice holding Kai answered.

'That voice sounds familiar.'

The three figures gathered around the bed in front of Kai and recognition set in. 'You've got to be kidding me. I got kidnapped by him!'

* * *

Ai diligently searched through the village but couldn't find a single lead on where Kakashi was at the moment. Feeling somewhat defeated, Ai sat down on a random bench. 'I guess I could check the memorial stone. I wonder what Kai's doing right now. I hope he's not worrying himself.' Ai got off the bench and headed in the direction of the memorial stone. 'I'm sure he's probably fine.'

Upon arriving at her destination, Ai scanned the area for Kakashi. She couldn't see him anywhere but she did feel a pair of eyes staring at her back. Ai spun around only to come face-to-face with Sasuke.

"Why are you here?" They asked at the same time.

"Humph, I'm looking for Kakashi-sensei," Ai crossed her arms and glared at Sasuke.

"I'm training with Kakashi-sensei."

"Well, where is he?" Ai was already exasperated with Sasuke after only talking for less than five minutes.

"I'm trying to find him. It's part of the training."

"Well how am I supposed to find him?" Ai demanded.

"How should I know, you're a ninja. Figure it out," Sasuke replied smugly before he disappeared into the trees.

"Freak," Ai muttered under her breath. A few seconds later a kunai knife landed right next to her foot. Ai glared at the trees in the direction the kunai came from. 'I guess I better start looking for Kakashi-sensei.' Following Sasuke's example, Ai leaped into the nearest tree to start her search.

* * *

"Remove you hand," Kai mumbled into his kidnapper's hand.

"What?" The person asked while removing his hand.

"I said to remove your hand."

"Oh, sorry."

"Naruto! What is going on here? Why did you kidnap me, you maniac?" Kai demanded.

Shikamaru sighed, "I knew this was a bad idea."

"Don't be such a downer," Choji scolded.

"You're the one who dragged me into this, if this goes bad which I predict it will, I blame you."

The ninja that had been holding onto Kai walked over and stood with the others. Kai glared at him. Lee. Rock Lee. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Lee stared back at him, "I feel very strongly for Ai. She is my friend. I have just realized that I like her however, she likes you. I will not disobey her wishes. We are going to train you to be the best boyfriend for her."

"Oookay. But why are they here?" Kai asked, gesturing to Shikamaru, Choji, and Naruto.

"We're his reinforcers," Naruto started to punch and kick the air trying to look like a super strong awesome ninja. He failed. With his limbs wildly flailing about he looked more like an octopus having a seizure. "You better be ready for this because if you don't listen you're going to be in a world of pain!" Naruto yelled out while he swung his arms around in what he probably thought was an intimidating move.

'How did I get kidnapped by these fools?' Kai thought. "So how exactly are you going to train me to be a better boyfriend?"

"You will go through a series of trials ranging from ninja skills to manners," Lee explained.

"Wait a minute, which of us is going to be teaching manners? Naruto never stops yelling, Lee just kidnapped someone, and Choji's not exactly an expert at table manners," Shikamaru interrupted.

"Well, Mr. Smarty Pants, why don't you do it?" Naruto pouted.

"Me? I don't even want to be here let alone teach this guy some manners. What a bother. Why don't you just get some girl to teach him?" Shikamaru suggested.

"I volunteer you to ask Ino to help us with this!" exclaimed Naruto.

"What? Aw man. I don't want to deal with her."

"Too bad!" Naruto stuck his tongue out at Shikamaru.

"What do ninja skills have to do with being a good boyfriend?" Kai interrupted their petty fight.

"Easy. A gentleman needs to be able to protect his girlfriend. If you are not a skilled enough ninja, you cannot ensure her safety like a good boyfriend should," explained Lee.

"This is ridiculous," Kai mumbled.

"Your opinion doesn't matter, we're going to make you do it anyways," said Naruto.

Kai rolled his eyes at Naruto and sighed. He contemplated the situation. He considered making a break for it but decided they'd just chase him down again. Resigned to his fate, Kai looked towards the ninja who were staring at him waiting for an answer, "Ugh, fine I'll do it."


	15. Search and Destroy

From her perch on a branch near the top of a tree, Ai scanned the horizon for Kakashi. To her left all she could see were more trees but on her right she could make out the village. The sun was high up in the sky signaling midday. A beam of light shone through the tree top momentarily blinding Ai who put her hand up as a shield.

'He's got to be around here somewhere. Maybe I should have followed Sasuke,' Ai's face twisted into a look of disgust at her thought, 'relying on Sasuke. How pathetic. I don't need his help. I'll find Kakashi-sensei all on my own.' Ai jumped down from the tree, carefully trying to avoid making any loud noises. She crouched perfectly still to listen for any odd noises that could lead her to her target. After a few moments, Ai heard a faint sound of metal clashing coming from the distance. 'That could be Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei.'

Ai rushed off towards the sounds of a fight, following the increasingly loud sounds of a fight. As she neared the sounds, Ai slowed down and ducked into a nearby group of bushes. A gap in the bushes allowed Ai to see the ongoing fight. Sasuke ran towards Kakashi brandishing a kunai while Kakashi stood calmly reading his book, generally ignoring Sasuke except for quick dodges and blocks.

Instead of being subtle, Ai decided on leaping out from the bushes and pointing at Kakashi. "HEY! Kakashi-sensei!"

A kunai zoomed by Ai nearly scraping her shoulder. Ai cast a glare towards Sasuke who didn't even pretend to look innocent.

"What do you need, Ai?"

"I realized earlier today that I haven't been showing up to training since I've been so occupied with other things so I wanted you to train me so that I can catch up to the others," Ai sheepishly smiled after explaining her reason. She hoped Kakashi wouldn't scold her for missing so much training.

"As if you could even catch up. Besides, he's training me right now," Sasuke replied before Kakashi had a chance. He crossed his arms and gave off a smug sense of superiority.

"Did I ask if he was training you?" Ai angrily shot back, "I already knew that you loser." Forgetting to be mature about things, Ai stuck her tongue out at Sasuke who simply replied with a glare.

"Calm down you two. If you're both so eager to train so much, why don't you have a sparring match?" Kakashi tried to break the growing tension between his two students.

"I don't want to train with someone so weak."

"Yeah, well I don't want to train with someone so stupid."

"Good comeback, genius."

"Okay, okay, that's enough. If you won't fight each other, then you'll just have to wait until later when we're having our team training," Kakashi shrugged.

"But sensei, you were already training me!" Sasuke protested.

"If you insist on being stubborn, you're just going to have to wait. So, do you two agree to spar?" Kakashi glanced between the two who refused to look at each other, pouting in almost the same way.

"No way!" Ai decided to not take the high road and instead insisted on being stubborn.

Kakashi sighed, "Very well then." Almost as soon as he said the last word, he was gone.

"Good going, idiot," Sasuke mumbled at Ai.

"I don't want to hear it, stupid!"

"Whatever, I don't have time for this," Sasuke huffed and walked away from the clearing.

Good, I don't want to be around you anyways!" Ai called after him. She stood around for a while with her arms crossed contemplating what to do before training. 'Maybe I should go see what Sakura's doing.'

* * *

"Okay, let's go over this one more time to make sure you understand. We are going to teach you to become a better boyfriend by becoming a better ninja. You will complete various lessons from each o-PUT YOUR HAND DOWN SHIKAMARU! NO, YOU CAN'T LEAVE! As I was saying, you will receive different lessons from each of us," Naruto explained, pacing back and forth in front of where Kai, Choji, Shikamaru, and Lee were sitting. "Do you understand?"

"We've already gone over this, Naruto. Yes I understand," Kai replied already exhausted by the day's events.

"Now, if at any point you try to escape, not only will we track you back down but we will tie you up and throw you in a lake," Naruto informed.

"Naruto, we can't do that. That's murder," Choji pointed out.

"Oh well fine, we'll just tie you up then," Naruto said, disappointed.

"I'm hesitant to ask, but what lessons are each of you teaching me?"

Naruto glanced towards the others before turning back to Kai and shrugging, "We haven't decided yet."

"You kidnapped me before even coming up with a plan for what to do once you had me? Why am I not surprised," Kai put his head in hands. 'Idiots.'

"We must now decide what we are going to teach him," Lee piped up. He motioned the others to follow him into the hallway away from Kai. They made sure to leave the door open so they could keep their eyes on him. They huddled together, Shikamaru more reluctant than the others, to debate what was important to teach and who was capable enough to be the teacher. Every once in a while Naruto or Lee would look over to make sure Kai wasn't trying to escape.

Kai sat patiently, if not increasingly annoyed with how long this was taking. He spent his time glancing around at his surroundings. He knew for sure he was in the bedroom what with the fact that there were two beds side by side. The room was clearly intended for only one bed as the already small room was taken up by the two beds with little room for the two side tables. There was a poster above one of the beds of a cup of ramen so Kai figured that one must be Naruto's. He looked over towards the other bed, Ai's. 'So this is where she sleeps. This is such a small room. There's no way she has any privacy,' Kai thought.

The four ninja reentered the room and broke Kai out of his thoughts. "We have decided on your lessons," Naruto announced.

Kai waited for a few moments for Naruto to continue but he was just standing there staring. Kai rolled his eyes, "Well?"

"Oh yeah, right. Ahem, you will have four lessons: taijutsu, strategy, heart, and the basics of Ai," Naruto counted off with his fingers.

"Okay, I understand taijutsu and strategy but what the hell are heart and the basics of Ai?"

"I will be your instructor for your lessons on taijutsu. I will teach you what you need to know to become a protector of Ai," Lee explained, ignoring Kai's question.

"Ugh, I will be your instructor for strategy," Shikamaru groaned.

"I will be your instructor for heart," Choji continued, following the same structure, "I will be teaching you how to be a kind and caring person apparently." Choji had a lack of confidence to his voice that didn't exactly inspire Kai. "Why am I the one teaching this again?"

"Because you're a polite person by nature and kindness is one of your strengths," Shikamaru explained. Kai was surprised by this statement as he didn't think Shikamaru had been paying any attention at this point.

"And finally, I will be your instructor on the basics of Ai. I will teach you all about what she likes and dislikes. Her favorite food, traits that annoy her, stuff like that," Naruto explained. "I have one question for you," he added.

"What is it?" Kai asked, humoring him.

"Are you ready?"


End file.
